andiesenji

I think you should try corn cob stock. The recipe on this site is pretty close to the one I have used for as long as I can remember, except I've never used thyme but do use the bay leaves. There are numerous recipes for this, especially as a base for corn chowder where the corn is not roasted (good idea though) but cut from the cob and sauteed with onions and etc., before being added back into the corn stock. You can get a range of flavors, depending on how much the corn kernels are cooked, how much they are browned, etc. I chop the cobs into several pieces, about 2 inches long.

Heavy copper (Mauviel Prof. and Matfer-Bourgeat, 2.5 mm copper)lined with stainless steel. The old tin-lined stuff I have is mostly all stamped "France" but I have some U.S. made pieces manufactured in the 1920s, '40s and '50s.

I have some small enamel/cast iron sauce pans that I use for stuff that needs to be heated slowly over low heat. For most cooking on the stovetop I use my All Clad sauce pans or the stainless-lined copper or for some things Calphalon but I don't like the dark finish for some things where color is important. If something is heat critical, I can pull these latter units off the heat and they cook quickly. The All Clad and Calphalon handles stay cool - the copper with cast iron handles also stay cool, those with brass handles do not. all handles get hot if you put the pan in the oven... Cheaper brands do not have the stay-cool handles. Enamel cast iron handles get very hot and you need something that won't let them slip. I have a bunch of the handle "sleeves" for all my cast iron cookware, enameled or not.

I often make them with a burnt fig jam or my own smoky quince jam (quince jam cooked with Lapsang Souchong tea to get a lovely smoky flavor. Several months ago I got some Skillet Bacon Jam and used one jar exclusively in omelets. Delicious!

I like them both ways, depending on my mood and what, if anything, is in them. Jelly omelets definitely must be browned on the outside. Mushroom omelets must be blond, as do truffle omelets. Denver omelets need a bit of browning, not too much. Cheese omelets should be dark blond but not browned. If there is meat with the cheese, a bit more browning is better. Omelets containing vegetables, such as asparagus or artichoke hearts benefit from moderate browning. This is a very subjective process and certainly influenced by personal preference.

This cannot be absolute, universal advice. You still have to consider the material of which the pan is constructed. Seasoned cast iron, should not be heated to a high temp dry - it will destroy the seasoning. If you heat tin-lined copper to just a few degrees above 450° F., you will have a puddle of tin in the pan. I know about this from personal experience, it was an accident. And I'm sticking to that story! Although it did give me an excuse to buy my first stainless-lined copper skillet. And as mentioned by others, never heat Teflon lined pans totally dry. A "trick" to grilling steaks or chops in a cast iron skillet so as to not lose the seasoning, is to heat the skillet with water, about 1/2 to 1 inch deep. When the water boils away completely, toss in some salt and pepper and drop in the steak. I don't know who originated this process but I saw it done many times at The Green Shack in Las Vegas, my ex knew the owners and every time we were in town we had at least one meal there (during the 1960s, early '70s). They used a lot of cast iron skillets, both for grilling and for frying chicken, etc.

Of course I was being facetious in my comments -- I do realize what he was getting at. But in my experience, adding oil before the pan is hot isn't usually problematic. It doesn't make food stick more, at least as far as I can tell. Perhaps it depends on the material from which the pan is made. I have always, as did my predecessors, put fat in a cast iron pan as soon as it was placed on the stove top or burner (it was a stove TOP when I first began cooking - on a wood/coal range) and if the pan was seasoned and there was enough fat in it, nothing would stick. Those pans work the same way today. I used the same technique in my old tin-lined copper skillets because one simply did not heat a dry, tin-lined pan until it was very hot - otherwise the tin would not be stable. The hot pan/cold oil works fine with stainless but stuff does stick to stainless more easily than to most materials, except for "raw" aluminum. I've never had a problem with stuff sticking to hard anodized aluminum and I generally put the fat in while the pan is still cold or barely warm. I don't think the principals of metal/fat behavior are different in my kitchen but I know what works for me. I just used my very old Griswold skillet to fry some catfish and I put the fat in the skillet, put it on the burner and when it was sufficiently hot (dropped in a little piece of bread to "test" it) I slid the fish in, left it undisturbed for 90 seconds, shook the skillet, the fish slid easily so I turned it over and finished it for a bit less than 2 minutes as they were fairly thick fillets.

Terrific method. I wish I could grip with my left hand well enough to use it.

If you find a sealed jar, there are people who will buy it on eBay for $100-200. I wonder if I could use ground, roasted chicory. I have a pound I ordered on a whim a while back.

Something about pawpaws showed up a couple of years ago in another discussion, not specifically about this fruit. At the time I found this site and copied the URL into a document. I got some pawpaws from a friend (didn't ask how she got them into California) and made the bread in this post. Pretty good. My friend made the cream pie and her husband fermented some to add to a batch of beer, a recipe he got from an elderly relative. I don't drink alcohol but I was told the beer was better than his pumpkin beer that won some award a few years ago. Pawpaws grow wild in Kentucky and my aunts and cousins have lots of recipes for various dishes, mostly for things similar to where you would use bananas and similar very soft fruits. My cousin tells me that the University of Kentucky has an extensive list of pawpaw recipes but I'm having a bit of difficult finding the site. Will report back when she sends me the link. Quick response and I am in error. It is Kentucky State University that has the info. Here the main page. This weekend is the OHIO Pawpaw festival! And here is the recipe site. Should be enough recipes there to satisfy anyone. I've heard of pawpaw panna cotta but the pawpaw zabaglione sound lovely.

It doesn't work on the jumbo-sized mangoes that I often find at the Mexican market but it has worked fine on all the others as long as they are not overripe.

What is coffee substitute?

I agree with Chris. It did take me a while to try one because I thought my traditional method was just fine, but as I like gadgets, I did buy one and found it worked great. However I managed to break the first one I got so upgraded to the stainless model - not that much difference in price. (Also upgraded to the stainless pineapple corer/slicer because I managed to chip one of the blades on the plastic one.)

Are you quoting from the Mark Grant translation? He gives a fairly comprehensive explanation of the possible variations of some of the obscure terms and has the Latin on the left hand pages and the English on the right-hand pages to make it easier to follow the text. If you don't have the book, it is available via Amazon at a reasonable price (compared to the earlier publication).

I've already begun my shopping for 2011 holiday gifts. Better to get it over with and not have concerns at the last minute! If you know someone who has been hankering for an infrared thermometer, ThermoWorks has a couple of specials. And buying now for a gift or for yourself really makes sense. The one like I have had for several years, the Combo Thermometer Infrared with Fold Out ProbeModel #THS-814-065 is offered for a limited time for $20.00 off the regular price. This is a great buy. If that is too much, the IR Mini is reduced to $29.00 for a limited time, save $10.00. Check the other specials if you need more technical apparatus. Several stores, both in-store and online are offering specials on Calphalon's new "Bronze" hard-anodized aluminum. Williams-Sonoma has a big spread in their newest magazine and Dillard's dept. store has a large display and the local store has a demo planned for either this Saturday or next, I didn't note the date. I asked the kitchen department associate if this cookware will work on an induction burner and she said that they have one ready for the demonstrator to use so I assume that like the "Contemporary" line it will be Induction capable. Should ask though. They are all (as well as the Calphalon home site) are offering a decent set for $399.95 (regular $700.) Useful pieces 8qt stockpot, 3qt saute pan,2.5qt sauce pan 1.5qt sauce pan 10"omelet pan 8" omelet pan, covers for the first four.

Like Heidi I smash salt in a mortar with salt and I find that "medium" sea salt works just a bit better for me than the Diamond crystal kosher sale which seems to break down too quickly into powder. However that could be my imagination. I used to use my broad chef's knife on the butcher block for just a couple of cloves but found the cleanup took longer than when I used a mortar and while I have plenty of cutting boards, I didn't always remember to walk across the kitchen to get one. I like the peeled garlic and I don't notice any diminished flavor and the stuff has the advantage of being pasteurized. I sometimes use a garlic press for certain dishes and I also have a garlic slicer that I use when I am preparing slices for drying. I have several mortars of various sized and use the one that is appropriate for the amount of the end product. For a good handful of cloves, I use a brass one that is deeper and doesn't retain any flavors.

That's a great guess.

Carolyn Tillie?

I feel like a moron after reading andiesenjis response I did not know about the epilepsy dogs.... You shouldn't feel at all bad. It is not well known, although there have been some shows on PBS and on Animal Planet about them. I know because of my friend. When I first met him, I thought Gaston was just a pet but when I saw him in action in the library - fortunately it was a petit mal seizure and not grand mal - he explained the dog's actions when he recovered. He told us that while he was in training with the dog, a young girl who had numerous seizures daily, was also in training and not only was the dog important in warning of a seizure, the number of episodes actually decreased significantly and they believe it was because she was not so apprehensive once she was comfortable with the dog. My deaf friend's dog is a Westie and ordinarily very playful but when he hears a siren or a smoke alarm when at home, he runs to a big button, smacks his paws on it and lights in every room flash so she knows something is amiss. On the street he will bat at her legs with his paws only if he hears a siren. He is also trained to hit a button attached to the telephone if she is unresponsive and this summons aid.

This is basically what we have today. it's garbage. Takes forever and is super loud. I'm looking for a better solution. I also have a Tribest Citristar that works nicely with oranges and grapefruit. The reamer is a bit larger than the B&D. I've had it for a couple of years. It's quieter but they all make some noise. I had a Cuisinart, broke it. Bought a Delonghi, returned it because it was junk, then got the Tribest when I was buying some other things direct from the company (Soymilk maker and yogurt maker). (They now sell through Amazon too)

Interesting, I've never heard of that trick before. I'll have to try it out. How long do you usually do the pre-bake? My sheet pans are lighter in color so maybe that is why I think that it affects the bottom browning. Then again, it might just be all in my head. Ten minutes. I allow them to cool then put the pie pan in which the pie will be baked over the crust and invert both then lift the one that held the crust out. I forgot to mention docking. I have a rolling docker and I run it over the pie dough on the board before transferring it to the pan. That's the way we did it in the bakery and I've never had the patients to use a fork.

I have a 2008 Dodge grand caravan. I had an auxiliary battery installed so that when it is parked, my fridge and a couple of other 12-volt appliances can be plugged into the two "hot" plugs that supply electricity when the motor is off. I also have an inverter and I can run a hair dryer and a coffee maker. I had the work done at an RV/Van conversion place and it cost me 670.00 including all the parts and labor and they put the aux battery in a well they built into the place where the "spare" tire usually sits. Because of the fold-into-the floor seats, a standard tire won't fit in the spare well and I won't drive long distances without a regular sized spare tire - I have a swing-away carrier for that that mounts in the trailer hitch. They also installed a more robust alternator or whatever the heck the thing is that charges the batteries - from one of the big Dodge trucks, I think. I have a little toggle switch under the dash which I push when I am going to be parked for awhile - it keeps the main battery from being drained. The fridge I have can also operate as a freezer. It isn't cheap but it is certainly worth every penny. I sometimes have to drive long distances to specialty stores and having it for the dairy and expensive cheeses especially, makes it a bargain for me. It's thisEdgestar. It has a digital thermostat so you can set it at the exact temp you want and it will maintain it (as long as it isn't being constantly opened), even in very hot weather. If you have only frozen food you can set it to zero.

There is an old book, "Cooking on Wheels" that is available through Amazon. When I traveled a lot in my motorhome that was my bible. Here is one link. look for similar topics. There is a long-haul trucker that lives down the road from me. He cooks a lot of stuff in a crockpot and has a mini microwave. Back in the even earlier days when we used to go camping in the High Sierras, I did a lot of roasting in aluminum foil packages on the car engine! Reynolds aluminum originally published a booklet explaining how. However these people have written an update Manifold Destiny.

I have electric rotary juicers and I like them. If I don't want so much pulp I can always strain the juice. I've got a Breville juicer but I don't use it for citrus. Tried it, didn't like it. Get one of the cheap Black and Decker juicers - they cost 15.00 and if it doesn't give you the product you want, you haven't spent a lot of money. I have one that I use when I have a bunch of lemons or limes to juice. The one I have for juicing oranges has a bigger reamer and was made by Proctor Silex about 20 years ago.

I do that sometimes, but I feel like the bottom crust does not get as browned when it is sitting on the sheet pan. Do you find that to be the case as well? Not really. If I am going to bake a really sloppy pie with fruit that produces a lot of liquid (berries, for instance), I have a "trick" I slightly pre-bake the bottom shell on the outside of an inverted pie pan with the outer edges covered with a ring of aluminum foil to keep that part from baking. My grandpa's cook did this so I have always done it. And you don't need any "tools" to keep the dough from slumping. I also use a dark sheet pan which also promotes bottom browning.